South Africa Water
South Africa
Water Treatment technologies in SA
Compiled by: Jonathan Lincoln
Swiss Business Hub South Africa (SBHSA)
Pretoria, December 2011
Download: www.osec.ch
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Overview and trends
Water supply and sanitation in South Africa is characterized by both achievements and challenges. After the end of Apartheid South Africa's newly elected government inherited huge services backlogs with respect to access to water supply and sanitation. About 15 million people were without safe water supply and over 20 million without adequate sanitation services. The government thus made a strong commitment to high service standards and to high levels of investment subsidies to achieve those standards. Since then, the country has made some progress with regard to improving access to water supply: It reached universal access to an improved water source in urban areas, and in rural areas the share of those with access increased from 62% to
82% from 1990 to 2006.
Less progress has been achieved on sanitation: Access increased from 55% to 59% only during the same period. Significant problems remain concerning the financial sustainability of service providers, leading to a lack of attention to maintenance. The uncertainty about the government's ability to sustain current funding levels in the sector is also a concern.
Geography & Climate
South Africa occupies the southern tip of Africa and has a long coastline of 2 500 km.
Although classified as semiarid, there is a considerable variation in climate and topography. There are seven major biomes or habitat types with distinct environmental conditions and related sets of plant and animal life.
Rainfall varies considerably from west to east. In the northwest, annual rainfall often remains below 200 millimetres. Much of the eastern Highveld, in contrast, receives 500 millimetres to 900 millimetres of rainfall per year; occasionally, rainfall there exceeds 2,000 millimetres. A large area of the
Water Treatment technologies in SA
Compiled by: Jonathan Lincoln
Swiss Business Hub South Africa (SBHSA)
Pretoria, December 2011
Download: www.osec.ch
1/9
Overview and trends
Water supply and sanitation in South Africa is characterized by both achievements and challenges. After the end of Apartheid South Africa's newly elected government inherited huge services backlogs with respect to access to water supply and sanitation. About 15 million people were without safe water supply and over 20 million without adequate sanitation services. The government thus made a strong commitment to high service standards and to high levels of investment subsidies to achieve those standards. Since then, the country has made some progress with regard to improving access to water supply: It reached universal access to an improved water source in urban areas, and in rural areas the share of those with access increased from 62% to
82% from 1990 to 2006.
Less progress has been achieved on sanitation: Access increased from 55% to 59% only during the same period. Significant problems remain concerning the financial sustainability of service providers, leading to a lack of attention to maintenance. The uncertainty about the government's ability to sustain current funding levels in the sector is also a concern.
Geography & Climate
South Africa occupies the southern tip of Africa and has a long coastline of 2 500 km.
Although classified as semiarid, there is a considerable variation in climate and topography. There are seven major biomes or habitat types with distinct environmental conditions and related sets of plant and animal life.
Rainfall varies considerably from west to east. In the northwest, annual rainfall often remains below 200 millimetres. Much of the eastern Highveld, in contrast, receives 500 millimetres to 900 millimetres of rainfall per year; occasionally, rainfall there exceeds 2,000 millimetres. A large area of the